Kingman Air Force Station

Kingman Air Force Station
Part of Air Defense Command (ADC)
Kingman AFS Location of Kingman AFS, Arizona
Coordinates	35°11′51″N 114°02′29″W
Type	Air Force Station
Site information
Controlled by	United States Air Force
Site history
Built	1955
In use	1955-1958
Garrison information
Garrison	659th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron

Emblem of the 659th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron

For the World War II training base, see Kingman Airport (Arizona).

Kingman Air Force Station (ADC ID: M-128) is a closed United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station. It is located 1 mile (1.6 km) southwest of Kingman, Arizona. It was closed in 1958.

History

Kingman Air Force Station was established in 1954 by Air Defense Command as one of a planned deployment of forty-four Mobile radar stations to support the permanent ADC Radar network in the United States sited around the perimeter of the country. This deployment was projected to be operational by mid-1952. Funding, constant site changes, construction, and equipment delivery delayed deployment.

This site became operational in July 1955 when the 659th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron was assigned to Kingman by the 27th Air Division, and initially the station functioned as a Ground-Control Intercept (GCI) and warning station. As a GCI station, the squadron's role was to guide interceptor aircraft toward unidentified intruders picked up on the unit's radar scopes.

The squadron operated AN/MPS-7 and AN/MPS-14 radars from the site briefly until it was placed in standby status in December 1957 and deactivated in February 1958. A gap-filler radar site was planned for Vincent AFB (SM-162) but never opened there.

In addition to the main facility, Kingman operated several AN/FPS-14 Gap Filler sites:

• Topock, AZ (M-128C/SM-162H): 34°43′21″N 114°15′09″W
• Poston AFS, AZ (M-128D/SM-160/SM-162I): 33°59′36″N 114°24′26″W**

Today the radar site is being used for radio transmitters. Some USAF buildings remain of the station, being used for civil uses.

.** Note: The site at Poston was originally constructed for the Colorado War Relocation Camp to house Japanese during World War II. However, apparently was never activated as an AC&W radar station. Instead, the gap-filler radar site M-128D / SM-162I was built there (but was not activated).

Air Force units and assignments

Units:

• 659th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, Assigned 22 June 1955

Activated at Norton AFB, California on 20 June 1953

Inactivated on 15 August 1958

Assignments:

• 27th Air Division, 22 June 1955 – 15 August 1958

See also

• List of USAF Aerospace Defense Command General Surveillance Radar Stations

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

• Cornett, Lloyd H. and Johnson, Mildred W., A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization 1946 - 1980, Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center, Peterson AFB, CO (1980).
• Winkler, David F. & Webster, Julie L., Searching the Skies, The Legacy of the United States Cold War Defense Radar Program, US Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratories, Champaign, IL (1997).
• Information for Kingman AFS, AZ